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Analysis and Health

Is covid-19 causing a global surge of diabetes cases?

Many clinics are reporting people diagnosed with diabetes during or soon after an infection with the coronavirus - but the picture is more complicated than it appears

By Clare Wilson

19 April 2022

LISBON, PORTUGAL - MAY 29: A mask-clad Nova Medical School final-year student gives a woman a blood glucose test to check possible diabetes at a screening post in Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic on May 29, 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal. Nova Medical School final-year students perform free cardiovascular screening, hypertension, diabetes and obesity check-ups to passers-by in a joint project with Lisbon's Areeiro Parish (Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

A diabetes screening event in Lisbon, Portugal

Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images

COVID-19 is notorious for sometimes leaving an aftermath of puzzling symptoms, such as fatigue or concentration difficulties. But doctors are also worried about the coronavirus triggering a more familiar condition: diabetes.

In countries that are dropping coronavirus precautions, it seems likely that nearly everyone will get infected at some point. So what do we know so far about the link between the virus and diabetes – and how will health services cope?

Diabetes is an umbrella term for several conditions that involve high blood sugar, …

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